Silvio Berlusconi bunga-bunga trial: prosecutors demand six years in jail
Source: The Guardian
Prosecutors have demanded that Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister and key backer of the fragile new government, serve six years in prison and face a lifetime ban from holding public office for allegedly paying for sex with an underage prostitute and abusing his office to cover it up.
Presenting her long-awaited closing arguments in the so-called Rubygate trial, Ilda Boccassini, the prosecutor who has led the case against Berlusconi, said the centre-right billionaire should be convicted on both charges involving Karima el-Mahroug, a former nightclub dancer from Morocco whose stage name was Ruby Heartstealer.
A verdict is expected in the coming months. If he is found guilty, Berlusconi will be able to launch two appeals, a process which would take years to complete.
Boccassini argued that there was "no doubt" that the then prime minister had paid for sex with Mahroug when she was 17 – under the legal age for prostitution in Italy. She also argued that when, in May 2010, the teenager was arrested on suspicion of theft, Berlusconi had put pressure on the police to release her, claiming she was a relative of the now-deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/13/silvio-berlusconi-bunga-bunga-trial
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And from the other thread
